Announcing appearances, publications, and occasional thoughts on natural philosophy and ancient history by philosopher, historian, and author Richard Carrier.

Richard Carrier is the renowned author of several books including Sense and Goodness without God and Proving History, as well as numerous articles online and in print. His avid readers span the world from Hong Kong to Poland. With a Ph.D. in ancient history from Columbia University, he specializes in the modern philosophy of naturalism and humanism, the origins of Christianity, and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, with particular expertise in ancient philosophy, science and technology. He has also become a noted defender of scientific and moral realism, Bayesian reasoning, and the epistemology of history. For more about him and his work visit www.richardcarrier.info.

EVENTS

Appearing in Texas: American Atheists 50th!

I shall be one of the featured speakers at the American Atheists convention this month, in Austin, Texas, March 28-31 (2013). And I’m just one among a huge array of awesome folk presenting there: just look at this lineup! Yes, that’s Jay Jay French from Twisted Sister and recent United States congressman Peter Stark on the roster (at an explicitly atheist convention!)–along with a zillion other hoopy froods. Read all about this convention, who will be there, and how to get in and get accommodations, at their convention website. It’s their 50th anniversary, so this one is special. So many people will be speaking and performing there it’s mind boggling. If you can make it, do!

I’m currently slated for the 5:15pm slot that Friday (March 29th), but be aware that can sometimes change. My talk will be “Atheism…Plus What?” Yes. That’s right. Shock. Horror. I’ll summarize the backstory and aims and values of what we’ve been calling Atheism Plus and explain why I think it’s important (whatever we choose to call it) and how we can have reasonable critical discussions about it (instead of emotional kneejerk reactions). No Q&A is scheduled, but you can chat with me at the nightly afterparties.

They will be selling my books Proving History and Why I Am Not a Christian: Four Conclusive Reasons to Reject the Faith. If you can find me anywhere at the convention without interrupting a speaker, I’ll happily sign anything you have (whether bought there or something you brought with you).

Comments

Thanks for this post. I already had “Proving History”, but I just now went and ordered “Why I am Not a Christian”, after reading your post here, so that I can bring it with me to the convention. Thanks for all of the books you have written.

And thanks also for your insightful analysis of the interesting mix of areas where Bart Ehrman has been great, and areas where he has apparently written without fully applying his skills. It shows that we are all enhanced by engaging with the ideas of our colleagues. This isn’t my field, so I’m glad we have you there to make this all clear to us. I’m really looking forward to your A+ talk, as well.